German Vice-Chancellor, Minister for Economy and Climate Protection Robert Habeck called the situation with gas supplies in the country “serious” and called for a reduction in its consumption by 15-20%.
On the air of the ARD TV channel, referring to Gazprom’s announcement of a further reduction in fuel supplies from July 27, he said that “we must be prepared for this,” and “this is a serious situation.”
Habek noted that Germany will continue to receive gas from the Netherlands and Norway, “we will be able to continue to fill the storage, but how quickly and in what volumes,” it will be clear later. He added that “we will not have gas in abundance.”
The minister called for a 15-20% reduction in gas consumption to avoid that “certain production chains simply cease to exist in Germany or Europe.”
The official promised that in the event of a shortage of gas, industrial sectors would be the first to suffer, while measures would be taken to provide residential buildings and infrastructure such as hospitals.
In an interview with DPA, Habek said he sees no “technical reasons” for Gazprom’s cuts in supplies.
As previously reported by Gazprom, gas pumping through Nord Stream will be reduced to one-fifth of its capacity from Wednesday.
